Superman: Confidential #1 and #2 (6 issue mini-series)

Superman: Confidential #2 (of 6)
Writer: Jeph Loeb
Artist: Tim Sale
Publisher: DC Comics

The Story So Far: A strange green meteorite plummets to earth, following the trajectory of a rocket-ship from a certain distant planet. Upon entering the earth's atmosphere, their paths separate and the meteor lands in the Himalayas. It becomes a revered object of Tibetan monks.

Shift to present day Metropolis, where Perry White is opposed to the opening of Utopia, a new hotel and casino. White suspects that it’s a front for illegal activities, which owner Tony Gallo will spearhead. At White's orders, Clark Kent and Jimmy Olsen set up surveillance in an old storefront near Utopia. Under the pretense of writing an entertainment piece, Lois goes "deep cover" by arranging a lunch date with Gallo.

Meanwhile, the Daily Planet is reporting the exploits of Superman, a spectacular new figure in Metropolis. Everyone looks up to him and believes he is invulnerable. Now, if only Superman himself were just as confident. And what of Lois? A stolen moment here and there, in-between saving lives, over-compensating with grand romantic gestures. How much longer can she play second-fiddle to his altruistic never-ending battle?

Issue #2: In another flashback, a mysterious figure attacks the monks and claims the green, Zen-like meteor. Now, it may adorn a chamber of Utopia, Tony Gallo's Hotel and Casino.

At this point, it's obvious that the meteor is a big honking slab of Kryptonite, and it's going to provide the "color" for this Tim Sale-illustrated mini-series. Judging from the looks of things, it's now residing in Utopia, Gallo's oddly-named casino. How this guy came across it, and his background story, are being doled out piecemeal. We're on a need-to-know basis, readers, and Darwyn Cooke is keeping his cards hidden.

Clark and Jimmy continue their surveillance, but Kent is distracted by CNN's coverage of a natural disaster. A long-dormant volcano in the south has erupted, threatening thousands of people. At the first opportunity, Kent becomes Superman and takes to the sky, determined to save innocent lives -- but painfully aware of an approaching date with Lois.

"A woman like this WON’T wait forever," he surmises.

And she doesn't. With Superman a no-show, she accepts Gallo's dinner invitation, while he is overwhelmed by veins of lava. Stood up again, but Lois Lane must hear some interesting excuses.

Confused and humbled by his near defeat, Clark returns to Smallville for some corn muffins and a heart-to-heart with Pa Kent. Clearly, he hasn't suffered a beating like this before. He shambles into the Kent farmhouse like a football hero who just got pummeled at the fifty-yard line. Everyone has to lose sometime, and Supey got his head handed to him. By a volcano, no less.

Pa Kent implores Clark to come to him in the future, whenever something this big troubles him. “Y’see, it’s your mother,” he explains. “She thinks you’re invulnerable, and that’s the way it’s going to stay.” Apparently, Superman’s lungs aren’t as resilient as his exterior, which he discovers while chugging magma. And Pa Kent doesn’t want this burden added to Martha Kent’s shoulders.

In Tim Sale’s hands, Superman looks younger and less bulkier than he appeared in Superman For All Seasons. Jimmy Olsen looks like one of the Dead End Kids. He doesn't say, "Oh, a wise-guy, eh?" Not once. But I'm waiting. He hunts and pecks at a laptop computer, doing stuff that baffles the 30-something Clark, who in turn uses phrases unfamiliar to someone born in the iPod era.

DC dodged the obvious title Superman Green and opted for Superman: Confidential. Within The story is referred to as "Kryptonite," so you know what they’re hinting at. I wouldn’t be surprised if the inevitable trade paperback has a cover design with Green as the predominant color. It will look terrific on your book-shelf, alongside Spider-Man Blue, Daredevil Yellow and Hulk Grey.

Sale must have dibs on anything color-related. Has he worked on Batman: Black & White, or will that throw off the rhythm? Black OR White ... make up yer mind!

His artwork has a peculiar quality that draws the reader into the story. Before you know it, you've accepted his depictions of the characters and their "through-the-looking-glass" qualities. Unfortunately, with a 30-day period between issues, I need to get accustomed to his artwork all over again. I've found it's best to read a Sale mini-series in one-sitting -- get accustomed to his peculiar characters ONCE and just read straight through.

That's shouldn't be difficult, considering that Darwyn Cooke keeps the verbiage to a minimum. Something about Sale's artwork forces a psychological sock into the writer's mouth and carries the story. A determined reader could blast through each issue in about five to ten minutes -- fifteen minutes if you pause to admire the artwork.

Most of these storylines seem constructed around Sale's artwork, playing to his strengths and giving him plenty of room for half-page panels and the occasional double-page splash. Sale relishes the intense close-up, and Darwyn Cooke obliges with scraps of staccato dialogue.

The "camera" zooms in on Perry White, close enough to see every pour in his four-color skin. “Metropolis,” the crusty editor says. "She’s the story." A speckle of dialogue in an ocean of artwork. Makes me wonder what type of comics Sergio Leone might have written.

The volcano storyline is entertaining enough, simple but boldly direct. Cooke’s subplot of Superman discovering his vulnerabilities is gripping, as he struggles with the unfamiliar emotions of fear and doubt. Sale’s artwork excels with high contrast light and shadows; the panels of Superman hovering in the evening sky, the island alive with threads of lava, are breath-taking. It reminds me of the 1942 animated Superman feature “Volcano,” from the Fleischer Studios.

Judging from the last panel (a full-pager), the real eruption will come between Superman and Lois. Knowing how temperamental she can be, he might want to take another swing at the lava.

*Originally posted at www.silverbulletcomicbooks.com on Tuesday, December 12